An example of one of the dome homes in Abaco, pictured in 2019.
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
DISASTER Reconstruction Authority executive chairman Alex Storr said investigations launched on the dome project on Abaco, initiated by the previous government administration, found some residents were renting the temporary housing structures for monetary gain.
Mr Storr said he was alerted to the situation during his first visit to the island. An investigation was launched shortly afterwards, he added.
“The first dome we stopped to and (a man) told us that he was renting the dome from someone else which caused me to launch an immediate audit on the occupants for the domes. We now have that report where we know who’s supposed to be in the domes and who’s actually not so we’re dealing with all those situations.”
Mr Storr said he has also received reports that some dome tenants have even rented their homes.
“I also got report that there was somebody who was renting their house that moved into a dome because they’re renting their house so there’s a lot of stories, some could be substantiated and some can’t but we will try to deal with it on a cases by case basis and see how we can bring a resolution to each one,” he added.
This comes as the authority is seeking to find alternative housing for Abaco residents who are still living in the domes.
Yesterday, Mr Storr said officials want to transition dome dwellers into permanent homes “within the next few months,” adding the government is willing to provide as much support as possible.
He said: “The Prime Minister is trying to make the best arrangements and see how best he can assist those persons that in the domes to get them out of there as soon as possible. Because, it never was intended to be long term housing and many of them have been in there over a year or more now and we’re trying to see what their individual circumstances are and how we can best assist them to see how they can get out of the domes and into their houses as quick as possible.”
The Minnis administration spent more than $6m on nearly 200 domes that were supposed to be used as temporary housing for Abaco and Grand Bahama residents after Hurricane Dorian.
According to Mr Storr, some 39 dome structures have been erected in Spring City, Abaco to date.
“When I last checked, there are at least four (domes) that are possibly vacant. I don’t know how many residents are in each of the domes that are occupied…but going by that, I’ll say there are 35 families.”
Asked how the domes will be used moving forward, the DRA chairman suggested the agency wants to find another purpose for the housing structures.
However, he said a decision in that regard will ultimately be made by Cabinet.
“We are going to re-evaluate the use of the domes and it is my opinion and persons on my project team is that the way those domes are installed right now is quite problematic and there are some persons that have issues with molds and other issues in the domes,” he told The Tribune.
“I don’t think that they were properly installed on the plywood footings that they had them on…. because the way there were installed there’s no way they can survive a 135mph hurricane and so we want to re-evaluate the domes and perhaps even re-purpose them.”
“But right now, the use of those domes was by a cabinet paper and mandated by Cabinet so we would have to go back to Cabinet with a solution before we could come up with other uses for them.”
Yesterday, Mr Storr also spoke on the agency’s plans to further reconstruction efforts on the island
“ The main two projects right now would be the restart of the Abaco centre which is the hurricane shelter on Abaco,” he said, “and we have met with the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and hope to sign off on an agreement/ donation this week and that will enable us to restart that project. It’s going to re-design that project because there were issues with the design that was being used. Hopefully, once the shelter has been done properly, they can then be duplicated around the country because you know we have no-purpose hurricane shelters.”
Plans are also underway to resume the agency’s Small Homes Repair programme, he added.
“We are getting ready to start the assessments for those that are qualified for the small home repair programme. We are going to restart that but we’re also revamping it and our aim is to close up as many houses as soon as possible with the upcoming hurricane season,” he added.
Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco on September 1, 2019 as a Category 5 hurricane before barreling toward Grand Bahama.
The storm left thousands of homes either destroyed or damaged and hundreds of residents displaced.
Comments
bahamianson 1 year, 10 months ago
Sigh, I am so tired of hearing these stories. Why does this continue to happen , especially with equipment belonging to the government? You know why? Noone is held accountable and prosecuted. If nothing is going to come out of this, stop the story.
tribanon 1 year, 10 months ago
LMAO
pro_test 1 year, 10 months ago
Boy Everything in life is timing. Jah Rul and team could of finally had a real Fyre Festival using those domes.
Sickened 1 year, 10 months ago
Could the government not build the domes on cement pads? Jesus Christ we just can't to anything properly.
JanetG 1 year, 10 months ago
LOLLLL😆🤣👸🏽
Hoda 1 year, 10 months ago
Im thinking the point is they are temporary, mobile and resuabale. So im imagining it sits and a base that it sits on a base equally removable and or mobile.
Sickened 1 year, 10 months ago
So the plan would have been to dismantle these domes, designed to withstand 135mph winds, if a hurricane came through last year? Because you certainly don't expect it to survive when placed on a piece of plywood.
JanetG 1 year, 10 months ago
WE BEEN A CAPITALIST, TRYING TO CATCH UP FROM GENERATIONAL DEFICITS OF DISAPPOINTMENTS, SET-BACKS, HURRICANES, PANDEMICS, LOCKDOWNS, INFLATION, ENDTIMES WARFARE. NOT TO MENTION, THE WORLD CONTINUES TO PILE ON EVERY PRICE COST AND SHIFT BURDEN ON THE COMMON MAN'S SHOULDER. THIS IS THE OUTCOME...CAPITALISM. LOLLL
The_Oracle 1 year, 10 months ago
They probably can be relocated, IF they were assembled properly and If packed up properly and If reconstructed properly. Odds aren't good.
Sickened 1 year, 10 months ago
And they didn't even raise the damn thing off of the ground. 2 inches of rain and the inside of the dome is flooded. My mind is blown away by the constant laziness in thinking and in action. To treat a highly engineered and tested structure like a canvas backyard camping tent is the height of idiocracy!
TalRussell 1 year, 10 months ago
Abaco's Domes flourishes' beyond the 16th Day September 2021 ... Domes highlights (A) Number The Colony's government rife with nepotism, elitism and political paybacks of salaries', plus benefits and perks of $70,000 - $200,000...And (B) number those still unfilled. ... Ask Disaster Reconstruction Authority's (DRA) executive chairman Alex Storr ... Has he launched an investigation into the Minnis government’s mass burial of 55 Hurricane Dorian victims in nameless graves ... And surely (DRA) should has at its fingertip the name of the individual that the rented out Dome was gifted to? ... Has chairman Alex Storr even bothered to knock on doors of the other Domes to *see who opens the doors ― Yes?
TigerB 1 year, 10 months ago
Those were temporary housing, but permanent for some folks seems to think. They were not design for long term, but Bahamians still live in them beyond the required time then complain about the conditions. Now Alex will build them houses for free.
SP 1 year, 10 months ago
Assholes one and all!
BONEFISH 1 year, 10 months ago
This is nothing new. Misuse of and conversion of government's assets for personal gain is common.
All Bahamians is do is talk.
ThisIsOurs 1 year, 10 months ago
“I don’t think that they were properly installed on the plywood footings that they had them on…. because the way there were installed there’s no way they can survive a 135mph hurricane and so we want to re-evaluate the domes and perhaps even re-purpose them"
Kay Forbes Smith and Iram Lewis have alot to answer for... add in all 35 FNM MPs. All of them banged on the desk at the wonderful job being done, not one person objected to these domes being constructed on plywood. I do recall commenters here pointing to potential problems, so the information was available somewhere in the ministry of works. where's the company who sold us this garbage? I still have my doubts on whether these structures were designed for tropical climates, the mold issues would suggest otherwise. The Poles north and south also have severe wind storms.
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